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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27228886">Merrily We Fall Out of Line</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Homestuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Meteorstuck, No Plot/Plotless, Other, Self-Indulgent, Slight OOC, Two Shot, also props to neec for beta reading, anyway, i think that paleship is underrated, minor aravris and fefnep, pale davekat if you squint, this fic is so soft and cute and i am being fed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:19:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,337</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27228886</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“He’s out of his room?” the Mage of Doom says. Dirk blinks up at him. “I thought KK couldn’t get him out.”</p><p>“He didn’t.”</p><p>“So why the fuck is he out?”</p><p>“Why do you care?” Dirk replies easily.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eridan Ampora &amp; Karkat Vantas, Eridan Ampora/Sollux Captor, Sollux Captor &amp; Dirk Strider</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. You and Him and Him and You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>WELCOME TO RHY CANT FUCKING STOP GETTING BRAINROT</p><p>this is going to be messy and kind of all over the place and maybe ooc but idc! fuck it! i wrote homestuck! this is my canon!</p><p>this first chapter is like,,,, mm,, a prologue of sorts, i'll upload the second chapter soon</p><p>ALSO! Heads up for Pale Eridave, Soldirk, Erikar and several others!! Along with (red) AraVris and some other minor ships! </p><p>enjoy!! mwuah</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Prince of Hope is staring at the Time Knight’s phone, listening in on some music he’d apparently made up during his death absence, when a pillow smacks him right on the side of his face, startling them both.</p><p>“There you are!” Eridan sees Dave’s lips twitch upwards, trying to hide a smile but it keeps slipping with each step that the Blood Knight took. Another pillow is thrown at them, barely missing Eridan’s horns as he ducks away from Dave who kicks himself further into the couch, a loud laugh escaping him when assaulted yet again with another pillow. “I go looking inside every fucking room of this shitty-ass meteor and I find you <em> here </em>?”</p><p>“Jealous?” Dave grins. </p><p>“I’m not talking to you, Strider.” Karkat sends the teen a glare (and Eridan makes a quick note that it lacks any real venom in it) before plopping himself down next to the violetblood, forcing him to sit upright. Within those few seconds Dave already picked himself up again, plugging his headphones and continuing to work on his music. </p><p>Eridan presses his lips together, a tickle of disappointment coming over him as he pointedly tries to not think of how Karkat’s now staring at him, big yellow eyes wide with dark furrowing brows, something he’s really gotten used to since his revival. “We were workin’ on music is all,” he says after a beat.</p><p>Karkat just looks at him, raising a brow. “You?”</p><p>“Ye - Well, no. I mostly listened.”</p><p>“That’s it?” </p><p>“Yes, Kar,” Eridan sighs, though the words come out softer than usual. He’s noticed it for a while now, from how easily he’s been able to calm down during arguments and petty fights with the others because <em> someone </em> was there to tell him to back down, breathe and to <em> relax </em>. It made it better. And every now and then he has to tug Karkat away from his own petty fights - usually from that other Strider guy or sometimes even Equius - and it usually ends with the two of them commenting on some random romcom movie, the fight long forgotten by then.</p><p>“You’re not wearing your cape.”</p><p>Eridan blinks, turning to stare back at Karkat’s face,  warmth glossing over his face when he’s fully aware he’s spent the last 30 seconds thinking about their last movie night. Karkat, however, makes no comment on that.</p><p>“Well.. yeah. I must’ve forgotten it.”</p><p>“You forgot your cape. Your flashy-ass motherfucking wizard-wannabe cape you’ve had since you were a wriggler. You forgot it.” </p><p>“It’s not a big deal-“</p><p>“You used it to hide yourself when you were feeling small, dipshit, of course it’s a big deal!” </p><p>Eridan fidgets in his seat, intertwining his own hands together, the small little cuts he’s gotten from his rings still burning little by little as he glances from Karkat to the floor and back, unsure of what to say next.</p><p>His voice begins to falter, the silence weighing down on them heavy against his chest, but he says, “I just didn’t want to wear it. The cape, that is.”</p><p>Karkat starts up again, “But you’ve-!”</p><p>A pillow smacks the mutant dead in the face.</p><p>There’s a pause, no longer than a heartbeat, and then Eridan is laughing, squeezing his eyes shut and clasping his hands over his stomach while Karkat stares ahead in shock at what just happened. It takes him two seconds to identify the culprit, the other Knight grinning widely at his boyfriend, before quickly grabbing the pillow and throwing it right back at Dave - only for it to get caught and thrown back again. It smacks Karkat’s head with just enough force for him to lean back, waving his arms around to balance himself, causing Dave to join in on Eridan’s laughing fit. </p><p>“Strider!” Karkat hisses, crawling over Eridan to kick at Dave’s legs, but he catches his foot and wrestles it into his lap instead, leaving the crab-troll awkwardly laying down on both seadweller and human. </p><p>“Vantas,” Dave answers, amused as all hell, shooting Karkat a smirk as he pats his ankle. </p><p>“Fuck <em> you</em>-”</p><p>“Only if you’re lucky-”</p><p>“I was in the middle of something you absolutely shitbag-”</p><p>“Right about Eridan’s shitty taste in fashion.”</p><p>“You’re not one to fucking talk when you’re always wearing that shitty red hoodie-”</p><p>“Kar,” Eridan cuts in, amusement seeping into his voice. Dave and Kakart quiet down; Dave lifts his head up to stare at him while Karkat tilts his head back against Eridan’s lap, his nubby horns getting covered up by a handful of hair. Eridan looks pointedly at Karkat, raising a brow as he pokes his chest. “Ain’t this Dave’s hoodie?” </p><p>Karkat stares up at Eridan, eyes growing wide by the second (Eridan <em> swears </em> there’s some lime swirled in those two red orbs), and his face quickly turns a darker shade when he dares to look down at the hoodie, red and inscribed with the same time symbol he’s seen Aradia wear on her own clothes- </p><p>“I fucking hate you,” he grumbles, throwing another half-hearted kick towards Dave, whom Eridan is sure to be smiling proudly.</p><p>“It looks good on you,” Eridan shoots back, clicking his tongue as he runs his hand through the mutant’s hair, undoing the small knots.</p><p>Karkat’s face scrunching up is the last thing he sees before the troll turns, burying his face against Eridan’s tummy.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Sollux is in the middle of building a new beehouse for his hive when he smells burning food.</p><p>He purses his lips at the smell, actively deciding to ignore it, but then <em> smoke </em> starts filling up his room, causing him to yank his headphones off to run towards the kitchen. He finds Dirk standing there, peering down at the burning food as if he didn’t expect it to fucking be there. He blinks down at it lazily before turning the stove off, waving away the smoke like nothing.</p><p>“Dirk,” Sollux says immediately. “What the fuck were you doing?”</p><p>Dirk stares blankly at the pan, twisting it slightly to the side as if inspecting it. “Cooking.”</p><p>Sollux snorts, the sound loud enough to catch Dirk’s attention. His shades are sliding off from their normal position, revealing tired pink-ish eyes. He offers a sheepish shrug before dumping out the charcoaled food into the trash and the burnt pan into the sink, leaving Sollux to inspect the food that was left to see another day. An empty carton of eggs remains on the table, broken egg shells stuck completely to the box.</p><p>“What the fuck.”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“How the fuck did you fuck up <em> eggs</em>?” </p><p>“I fell asleep,” Dirk replies bluntly, taking his shades off to rub his eyes. He adjusts his hair and headband before putting them back, but even there Sollux can still catch glimpses of his eyes in the light. “I was, uh, staying up with Jake last night.”</p><p>The goldblood bites back a sigh, glancing back at his abandoned game. He thinks, briefly, about returning to it and leaving the Heart Player to deal with the mess but a small part of him pricks at his side to stay. He huffs out a “move”, before getting to work on cleaning the messy areas. Dirk stands there for a few moments, watching him work, before sitting down on a chair to Sollux’s command. He’d rather not deal with his moirail’s half-asleep antics right now, especially if he wanted to finish fast enough to get back to his game. </p><p>He’s gotten used to it by now, of course, but even he has his limits when it comes to this shit. Aradia beared  witness to it. Still, when he’d told her he was willing to be Dirk’s other shitty half in the diamond shaped bromance, she said, “Be good to him.” She’d left grinning, per usual, leaving him to stare down at the floor.</p><p>And he was. Good to him. His patience got pushed and nudged every now and then but he liked to believe they were good, better than he was in his previous relationships, anyway.</p><p>While he picks up the cartoons and milk and butter with his psionics Dirk fills up the room with needless chatter - something about Aradia and Vriska being huddled up in their room and something else about hearing Karkat and Dave-</p><p>“And Eridan,” Dirk adds, causing Sollux to nearly drop the pan back on the sink.</p><p>“He’s out of his room?” the Mage of Doom pours out more soup than needed into the pan, covering his hand in the purple liquid. He clicks his tongue and starts scrubbing the grease off, furrowing his brows as he does it. “I thought KK couldn’t get him out.”</p><p>“He didn’t.”</p><p>“So why the fuck is he out?”</p><p>“Why do you care?” Dirk replies easily. Sollux turns to look at him, hands still holding on tightly (way too fucking tight) to the pan, and Dirk’s lips twitch upwards. And, just because he can, Dirk adds, “He’s fine.”  There’s an amusement in his tone that Sollux doesn’t fucking understand and his lips quirk up into a half-smile expression to which the goldblood frowns at. He goes back to his phone - when the fuck did he take that out? - leaving Sollux to stare at the side of his head for another ten seconds. </p><p>The two words made him freeze up, his stomach twisting and his chest feeling tight, and it fucking shouldn’t be feeling this way. He blinks away from Dirk, leaving his palemate to his own devices.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. I do and Me too</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“You fucking suck.”</p><p>“I’m trying to concentrate ED.”</p><p>“I can’t believe you suck at a game this easy.”</p><p>“Alright princess you play it then.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>An ending to my brainrot. Maybe.</p><p>Neec fell asleep so no beta read for this one im sorry :’)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You still didn’t know how to react every time you saw Sollux already in the room you were going into. The first few times you quickly turned at the heel, passing by Karkat for the second time that day, mumbling out that you’d left something back inside your room only to wait a few minutes in there doing nothing until you were sure that Sollux had left. Sometimes your calculations were off, go figure, and you’d end up bumping into him instead. And he never looked mad, more so annoyed or confused, but you quickly spat out an apologie before ducking away from him. </p><p>You weren’t sure you could get out of sitting next to him when Karkat was sitting on your other side. </p><p>At some point Dork - erm, <em> Dirk </em> - had suggested a movie marathon, his voice carrying over the place in the form of a suppressed yawn, to which everyone agreed. You watched as Sollux made a move to get up as soon as Dirk started walking off the wrong way but then he got guided back towards his seat by Jake instead, making the goldblood relax back into his seat. You were aware of the paleness of the two of them. You were happy for them, truly, but it didn’t change the fact that being happy for their success wouldn’t immediately make Sollux forgive and forget for all the shit you’d pulled.</p><p>The group then departed when settling on movies to watch. You had gotten up to grab some old movie you were sure you had stored away in your room somewhere when Nepeta bounced up to you, immediately clinging to your arm and nearly throwing you off balance.</p><p>“Ampurra!” they squeaked, tightening the grip on your arm. </p><p>“Hey Nep, ” You smiled down at her, loosening her grip on you so you could properly side hug her. She started to walk and you followed, making sure to keep up with her eager pace. </p><p>“You’ve been avoiding us!” she told him, her nose scrunching up as she tilted her head to look up at him. “Me and Fefurri have been looking <em> everywhere </em> for you!”</p><p>You can’t help but shoot her a grin, raising a brow as you maneuver your way to the hall, where everyone’s rooms are located. “You mean my room?”</p><p>Nepeta laughs, her voice filled with amusement and glee. It made him smile up until she said, “Yes! We even bumped into Sollux once!”</p><p>“Sollux?” Your voice had dropped down to a hushed tone. Still, she nodded excitedly, tugging you forwards as your thinkpan tried to come up with a perfectly logical explanation to that fact: he wanted to kill you. </p><p>Nepeta had pulled you into their and Feferi’s room, the other seadweller gasp out excitedly, her fins perking up excitedly. You took one footstep towards her and she embraced you into a tight hug. You ended up talking to her and Nepeta for the next twenty minutes (“He doesn’t want to kill you Eridan!” Feferi had squealed, Nepeta bursting into giggles beside her) Karkat’s loud voice calling everyone to the “living room” shortly after. </p><p>You didn’t even get to grab your own movie. </p><p>Anyway you ended up sitting next to Karkat, who nudged you softly on the side to show you the movies he picked out: Moulin Rouge and 27 Dresses. You had looked up to see him waiting expectantly. You smiled, tapping the second movie and he brightened.</p><p>You then felt someone else sitting next to you — which you assumed to be Nepeta — and you twist away from Karkat mid-sentence to grab her arm and say, “Thank you for earlier Nep but I’m very sure Sol hates me right now—”</p><p>“What?” </p><p>You looked up to see Sollux’s confused stare, brows furrowing down as he tilted his head slightly down. You realized then that you were still holding on to his arm and immediately yanked it away, feeling the blood drain from your face even further as you tried to scoot away, burrowing into a confused Karkat.</p><p>And here you were, lodged in between someone who you were absolutely <em> sure </em> fucking hated you and then Karkat, who looks just as confused and conflicted as he possibly could. You remind yourself that everything that happened was in the past just as Dave gets up to pop in one of the disks into the DVD set, everyone quieting down to hushed tones as the screen flares to life. </p><p>You try to focus on the narrator’s voice — some heavy accent that dragged on as he spoke  you couldn’t quite get why Rose and June groaned loudly as Dave snickered — when you feel someone’s breath near your fins.</p><p>“ED.” You try your goddamn hardest not to jump away. “Can we talk?”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” you whisper, fin flicking as another breath warms over it. “I thought you were Nep.”</p><p>Sollux pauses. He’s still pressing close to you, though no one else seems to notice, too busy either quoting the movie lines themselves or making fun at said lines, which you suddenly feel very thankful for.</p><p>“Not about that.”</p><p>“Then what?”</p><p>“Can we just talk?”</p><p>“About <em> what</em>? ” It comes out harsher than you expected. Defensive. You notice Karkat shifting next to you and you try to relax, but knowing that Sollux is right there and that the <em> only </em> thing that’s stopping him from culling you <em> again </em> right there is the fact that everyone’s here, bearing witness. Your stomach churns as you try not to think about it, Karkat’s voice carrying as he makes mock commentary on the film, waving his hand around as he exchanges banter with someone (Dave?) but you can’t <em> hear </em> it—</p><p>“ED.” </p><p>You startle. </p><p>You look back at Sollux, see his mouth open up to say something —</p><p>You get up before he can.</p><p>Karkat looks up at you immediately and you mutter something to him — “I don’t feel good” — and he pauses for a moment before nodding and settling back down to watch the movie. No one else says anything.</p><p>You don’t bother looking back as you make your way to your room, heart racing.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>Eridan Ampora is a thorn on your side. Metaphorically.</p><p>You no longer have the same tendencies you did a few sweeps back, when you were stupid and more focused on being a sarcastic and proudful little shit (you still were, just not as much), but he still made it difficult for you. You bump into him every now and then and he <em> flinches </em> away, as if you’d try and do something to him. Adding salt to the wound you’ll often see him with Kanaya, relaxed and conversing with her and Rose about some random shit here and there. </p><p>You saw him making something short of a smile once. </p><p>You hate him for it. Not <em> hate</em>. Whatever the fuck. Dirk and Aradia have been listening to your rantings for the past few days. </p><p>“Sollux you <em> have </em>to be patient.” Dirk says one day. He’s holding his hands out in front of him, nestled comfortable into one of the few bean bag chairs you both managed to steal from the living room, while Aradia paints his nails.</p><p>“I’m fucking trying!” You snap. It takes you a moment to blink away the frustration, then you pause your game, sliding off your headphones and spinning in your chair to look at him. “He’s avoiding me.”</p><p>“You did almost murder him.” Aradia blows into Dirk’s hands, holding up a familiar green nail polish. You were pretty sure Jake used the same color. Or whatever. </p><p>“<em>Kanaya </em> sliced him in half!” </p><p>“Fuck, really?” Dirk muses, lifting his head up. “But he was just with her and Rose—”</p><p>“Then why is he <em> avoiding me</em>?” Irritation clouds your mind, as much as you try to fight it. You feel a headache coming on but all you can is muster up a sigh, leaning back to glare at him. </p><p>There’s a pregnant pause, neither of them moving. The only thing breaking the silence is Aradia’s quiet humming as she inspects each of Dirk’s fingers before moving on to the next hand.</p><p>You sigh, opening your mouth—</p><p>“Maybe because you weren’t friends with him,” she says. </p><p>You snap your gaze over to her. She’s looking at you, her lips pulled into a straight line as she shakes the bottle at full force, holding Dirk’s hand as delicately as possible. She raises a brow at you. </p><p>“We were. Friends.” You say dumbly.</p><p>She clicks her tongue, shaking her head as she twirls the bottle cap of the nail polish off. She starts doing Dirk’s pinky as she says, “You sent hate messages to each other and you never <em> once </em> before decided to talk to <em> him</em>.  The only few times you did was when <em> he </em> approached <em> you </em> — the last one ending with you in a death-coma.”</p><p>You keep your eyes on her. She looks up from her work and shrugs. “You thought he was pathetic and you kept mocking him for it. You probably made him feel worse.”</p><p>You quickly sit up as you say, “I was a kid.”</p><p>“So was he.”</p><p>And with that she goes back to working on applying nail polish. </p><p>You take a long, slow breath.</p><p>Immediately everything comes down on you, making you feel worse than you already did when you entered your room. You spare a glance over to Dirk who raises a single brow. </p><p>“..yeah. Later,” you mutter, turning back to your computer and unpausing the game.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>You see Sollux again and again, much more frequently than before.</p><p>He barely notices you — or maybe he’s pretending not to — busying himself in talking to Dirk or Roxy or anyone else. </p><p>You’re sitting down on the dinner table, waiting for Kanaya and Rose to join you with some new ideas for Kan’s dresses and your hair, when he sits in front of you.</p><p>You startle, looking up to meet bicolored eyes. You haven’t talked since the movie marathon a few weeks ago.</p><p>You almost get up when he says, “I don’t hate you.”</p><p>He leaves just as Kanaya and Rose arrive, leaving you more confused than before. </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>“If you make him cry—”</p><p>“KK, I’m not going to make him cry.” You say out loud feeling angry at the accusation. A small part of you reminds you of all the shit you’ve said to Eridan in the past and you falter, your frown gone by the time the two of you reach Eridan’s door. Surprisingly, it’s not a bright shade of purple, instead covered up by multiple notes and messages taped on it. You squint to get a better read on a few.</p><p>
  <em> yo just wanted to let you know that i finished ur gift for your wriggling day its fucking amazing dude youre gonna fucking cry from how ultra fucking great it is </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -TG </em>
</p><p>
  <em> :33 ampurrraaa me and fefurry were wondering when you'll come by!! no rush, we just miss mew  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -AC </em>
</p><p>Karkat huffs out next to you. He’s got his hands stuffed inside Dave’s hoodie — possibly stretching it out a bit due to their size difference, but he seems comfortable enough. He gives you one last look. “I’ll be outside if something goes wrong,” he says.</p><p>You want to tell him nothing <em> will </em>go wrong but you’re not sure of that. Just then the door opens, startling you (you notice Karkat moving to the side, his expression still the same) as Kanaya exits out of the room. She closes the door and looks up, pausing for a moment. Her cheek face has a few spots of purple paint (you really hope it’s paint). She blinks and stares at you pointedly before nodding her head in acknowledgement. She walks by Karkat, squeezing his shoulder in faint hello and goodbye, before continuing down the hall.</p><p>You look back at Karkat, confused — but he simply shrugs back at you then moves to lean against the wall. </p><p>That’s it. </p><p>Ok. Fair, you guess. </p><p>You open the door without knocking (should you have knocked?) and step inside. </p><p>Eridan is sitting on the edge of his bed, wiping at his eyes with the palm of his hand and you call out his name, startled. He flinches (your chest tightens up again) and he looks up at you with teary eyes—</p><p><em> His hands covered in violet </em>—</p><p>You walk over and quickly sit next to him. There were times where you’d come back to see Dirk with reopened cuts and blisters from working on his own projects (most of the time with Equius) and you’ve learned how to treat said cuts and wounds from him. It was useful when it came in hand (when Vriska got too wild and ended up hurting Aradia in the process by accident or when Nepeta wouldn’t realize her own claws cut too deep on herself and others). But he <em> couldn’t find the fucking cut wound anywhere. </em></p><p>It didn’t help that Eridan seemed to be panicking just as much as he was. Or maybe he was confused. Was he confused? </p><p>“What are you doing!” He rasps, trying to yank his hands away from you but you tighten your grip just enough to keep him from moving.</p><p>“Where did she hurt you?” You say, startling yourself with how angry you sound. Why? Ah, fuck, cut. Right.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I saw Kanaya leave and—”</p><p>“Kan—”</p><p>“She would never do this I know but maybe you pissed her off or some shit—”</p><p>“She was dying my hair!” He shouts, scaring you to silence. His fins are flaring up and his eyes are turned to slits, huffing as you blink at him. </p><p>“..she was?” You want to kick yourself off this shitty meteor and into the void.</p><p>“Yes, she was.”</p><p>It falls down to an awkward silence. Now that you're closer you can see the same splotches of violet spread on Eridan’s cheek, near his eye, which would explain the wiping from earlier. His hair’s also down. It’s usually wavy appearance watered down, clinging all the way down to his neck. The singular purple streak was also gone, instead replaced with multiple ones all over. </p><p>You think about how stupid but fitting it is when he starts tugging his hands again. You’re still holding on to him. You let go almost immediately and he starts rubbing his wrists (were you gripping that hard?) before giving you a pointed look.</p><p>“Why are you here?” he asks.</p><p>“I wanted to apologize.”</p><p>Another pause.</p><p>Eridan stares at you, raising a brow and you blink. Right. Context. Fuck.</p><p>You cough, shifting to sit properly on his bed, making sure to face him. “For what I did to you… all those sweeps ago.” You watch his eyes grow wide, slits turning back to round, violet orbs. He looks puzzled but relaxed. Far better than he was when you first barged in. “I was a dick,” you add.</p><p>He snorts. “You were an asshole.”</p><p>At least he was talking to you.</p><p>“I was <em>13. </em>Everyone was. We were all assholes.”</p><p>“Yeah, well,” he sits down more comfortably, bringing his legs up and hugging them against his chest. “You hurt me the most.”</p><p>And you don’t know why but his words <em> run deep.  </em></p><p>There’s a skip in his heart as you sit in silence. Part of you wants to leave and never come back, bury yourself under a pile of worn sweaters and broken headphones, but the other part tells you to stay. Funny. Even dead you're split in half. </p><p>You lick your lips, tilting your head to look at him. “We can try again.”</p><p>He furrows his brows. He looks up at you through stray locks of purple tinted hair. “What?”</p><p>“We can try again. New start. We can be friends.”</p><p>He seems to consider it but you decide to act before he inevitably kicks you out of his room.</p><p>“Sup, I’m Sollux,” you say in your most neutral voice. You extend a hand for bonus points.</p><p>He stares up at you, eyes wide and bright. Then, to your surprise, he laughs. Genuinely. Have you ever seen Eridan Ampora laugh before? Unfiltered and pure? He then grabs your hand and you immediately notice how goddamn cold he is, countering against your warm skin.</p><p>“Hey Sollux, I’m Eridan,” he grins.</p><p>You smile back.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Rose is in the middle of applying the final touches to your outfit when Aradia bursts in.</p><p>You watch her for a split second — she picks you up and squeezes you into a hug, spinning you as she squeals and exclaims. You’re pretty sure is chuckling. Either that or you were just overwhelmed by everything.</p><p>She sets you down and squishes your face between her hands, brushing the hair out of your eyes. She says, “You’re a gem.”</p><p>You blink. “I.. thank you?”</p><p>“Sol is lucky.” She squishes your face further and you can’t fight the smile, it’s contagious, but you still furrow your brows in confusion. You start a question but she hushes you, sparing a glance at Rose — she raises a single brow and smiles back at her — and then she’s off, large curls of black and red following behind her.</p><p>You feel.. like you’ve gotten her blessing. You scrunch up your face at the thought and try to ignore it.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The closer you get to Eridan the more you know.</p><p>You’re on your run to grab you and Dirk another batch of energy drinks, hurrying up to the kitchen with game music still blasting on your headphones, when you see Dave and Eridan already there sitting at the dinner table. They’re huddled up together and there’s small movements coming their little cocoon of dark grey and clown purple.</p><p>You can make out their voices the closer you get to them.</p><p>You turn down the game music — Dirk can wait another twenty minutes — as your curiosity peaks. The closer you get, the louder the voices, the better you can hear them <em> singing. </em></p><p>It goes:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> So testosterone boys and harlequin girls. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Will you dance to this beat </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> And hold a lover close? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And you start to give Dave praise for being able to handle his accent well enough when you realize he’s not singing. This close you notice him nodding his head, a pair of headphones on top of his head as the music drums from either side of them, a smile stretching across his face as Eridan sings. He’s wearing his own pair of headphones, a violent shade of purple and a capricious symbol displayed on the sides. </p><p>Dave notices you when you’re near the table, pressing finger to his lips as Eridan keeps singing, voice wavering over the instrumental. He misses a lyric here and there but he’s grinning, eyes closed and body swaying as he keeps going.</p><p>Your lips quirk up a bit at the sight and you quickly grab the energy drinks and leave before Dave can judge you behind his dark pair of shades.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>You stare down at the trail of pillows coming from Sollux’s room. They’re mostly yellow with black stripes (go figure) but a few are different shades of red, orange, pink—they all lead up to his door, which is slightly held open by a singular large purple pillow.</p><p>Karkat said to be in Gamzee’s room within an hour. </p><p>You have an hour to spare.</p><p>You stalk towards the door, carefully picking up the pillows as you do (red, purple, red, olive—) and nudge the door open with your foot. The sight revealed makes you smile.</p><p>Sollux is there — you <em> think </em>it’s Sollux — buried under a pile of blankets and pillows, his horns sticking out from underneath the mountain. You catch the black stripes painted over the bright yellow of his hoodie and grin.</p><p>Quietly, you step over to where he is, hugging the pillows close to your chest. You’re looming over him and his pathetic excuse of a makeshift bed. You lift up the excess pillows and blankets laid over his head, revealing him — yes! The mighty Mage of Doom! In all his bedheaded glory! He opens a single blue eye and smiles up at you.</p><p>It seems genuine.</p><p>You almost feel bad dumping all the heavy pillows on his face.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>You burst out in laughter as he makes a strangled noise, kicking away all of the other pillows and blankets (you see a tiny minecraft bee plushie fly off into the distance, smacking against the wall and them colliding with the floor). You try to make your escape but he grabs you by the ankle of your foot with his free hand and then the bottom trim of your sweater to yank you down.</p><p>You yelp out in surprise. The two of you collide, ending up a tangled mess on the floor, surrounded by multicolored pillows and bumblebee painted blankets. You’re both huffing out loudly, staring up at the ceiling and you can feel the flush spreading across your face from the excitement and then anxiety.</p><p>You start on your apology when the back of Sollux’s hand smacks you with the back of his hand. You sputter, shoving him away. He snickers, swaying to one side then back towards you.</p><p>“Asshole,” he says, grinning.</p><p>“Dipshit,” you reply with a smile of your own. You give him another shove and he starts laughing again, watching you prop yourself up to take a good look around the place. You can pinpoint all the areas where Dirk has been, his hat and orange signature color here and there, but nothing too extreme, much like how Gamzee and Karkat’s stuff are sometimes left behind in your room.</p><p>“What were you doing?” You ask.</p><p>“Sleeping.” He says and starts gathering up the pillows again. “It was so wonderful until some <em> asshole </em>decided it’d be great to wake me up.”</p><p>“Don’t leave your pillows in the middle of the hall then.” You give his side a soft kick and he snickers.</p><p>“Ok, princess—”</p><p>“Ampora.”</p><p>You both freeze up at that. Sollux’s mouth is clamped shut and you’re pretty sure you look twice as stupid as he does. You look back at the door to see Karkat standing there, jaw hanging slightly open as he flicks his gaze from Sollux to you and back. Repeatedly. </p><p>You exchange a quick glance to Sollux.</p><p>You quickly grab the nearest pillow and smother him with it, causing him to let out another strangled cry, and you hurry to your feet, nearly slipping because you are wearing fucking <em> socks</em>, quickly grabbinf Karkat’s arm and tugging him away from the door.</p><p>“What—”</p><p>Your words come out hurried, “He’s sleeping, Kar. Let him sleep.”</p><p>(The next day you’re walking down the same hall when a pillow is suddenly slammed against you, psionics sparking out of it. You swear vengeance on Sollux and you get a loud laugh in response.)</p><p><br/><br/>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Ok, stop it.”</p><p>“Stop what?”</p><p>“Stop giving me that fucking look, Strider.”</p><p>Dirk wipes his nose with his thumb, smirk clearly visible on his face. He crosses his arms again, still leaning against the doorframe, watching you work. You’ve been enduring it for the past twenty minutes but it had to fucking <em> stop. </em></p><p>“I’m not doing anything, Captor,” he replies and you almost pick up your keyboard to throw it at him. </p><p>Almost. </p><p>So close. </p><p>You stop coding and swivel your chair around. The two of you stare for thirty seconds before you make a gesture, urging him on with a <em>“</em><em>what?” </em></p><p>You swear his smirk widens when he tilts his head back, as if making a gesture. “You and Ampora—”</p><p>
  <em> Oh, fucking hell. </em>
</p><p>“That’s some deep friendship you two are having.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean to call him ‘princess’ it fucking slipped out.” You say. Then immediately regret it. </p><p>Your stomach twists at the same time Dirk’s face lightens up, grinning plastered on his face as he says, “<em>Real shit? </em>”</p><p>“Fuck off.”</p><p>“That’s kind of gay there, Captor.”</p><p>You try to ignore the warmth flooding your face as you reach for the door with your psionics and slam it close on him. </p><p>Seconds later you hear knocking.</p><p>“Yes?” You say, defeated.</p><p>“So when’s the wedding?” Dirk shouts — motherfucking <em> shouts </em>— and you slam your head against your keyboard.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
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</p><p>You and Sollux feel closer now. Or so you think.</p><p>You exchange banter here and there, friendlier than it was before. And even as you busy yourself in handling Gamzee’s pies or discussing a new movie with Karkat or making a new song with Dave, you find time to visit Sollux. </p><p>Once you sat down next to him as he played some new video game Roxy had apparently manifested for him. Or was it Jade? You couldn’t really keep up with everyone’s god powers but you were pretty sure it was Jade. Anyway he didn’t say anything, simply scooted over to make room for you and you didn’t have to ask to sit down next to him. </p><p>He played for the next hour or so and you kept jabbing at his side with comments here and there—</p><p>“You fucking suck.”</p><p>“I’m trying to concentrate ED.”</p><p>“I can’t believe you suck at a game this <em> easy.</em>”</p><p>“Alright princess you play it then.”</p><p>You had managed to die not once but five times consecutively in a row, much to Sollux’s joy. He then sat himself closer to you, placing his hands over yours as he taught you the mechanics and which button did what.</p><p>You managed to beat the level with his help. He gave a nod of approval and you felt your chest swell up with joy as you smiled at him.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“And then he dies.”</p><p>“No. No fucking way.”</p><p>“He dies, Sol. That’s just how it goes.”</p><p>“Bullshit!”</p><p>You watch Eridan wiggle out of his blanket cocoon, purple streaked hair tousled everywhere as he looks down at you. “That’s it. That’s how it ends.”</p><p>“That’s a shitty movie.”</p><p>“What — You thought they’d be together forever?”</p><p>You catch the way his gaze softens when you say, “Yeah.” </p><p>He huddles closer to you and starts up another story. You fall asleep halfway but you don’t mind.</p><p>
  <br/>
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</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>You stare at Dave through his shades. He stares back. For the past two minutes you’ve been staring at each other, Kanaya and Rose running their hands through your hair — Kanaya tended to Dave’s brown curls while Rose carefully brushed your black nest. </p><p>Dirk was laying down on the couch off to the side, wearing Jake’s golden Hope hoodie, his shades placed on the small stand next to him, waiting for his turn to cut the excess hair. Even from here You could see his brown curls were <em> long</em>, far longer than they were a few weeks ago. He opens an eye to check up on the two of you and then closes it immediately when he sees you’re still staring. </p><p>It goes on for another minute until Dave speaks up, voice laced with amusement.</p><p>“You’re wearing hacker dude’s shirt.”</p><p>You do your damn hardest to hold back a squeak in your voice, saying, “You’re wearing Kar’s pants.”</p><p>“They were the only thing I had.”</p><p>“<em>Bullshit,</em> I still find your stupid sweatpants in <em> my </em>laundry.”</p><p>“Consider them an early wriggling day gift! They’re yours now, congrats.”</p><p>You narrow your eyes, lips twitching. “Do you give every one of your friends silly nicknames like ‘Karkitty’ or is he just that special?”</p><p>Dave then sputters, much to your amusement. He tilts his head back to meet his sister’s eyes. “Mary Lamb,” he starts but the Sylph immediately lets out a “no” and pushes his head back down to keep working on his braids.</p><p>“Is it pitch?” You ask eagerly, tilting your head down at Rose’s gentle pat. She starts working on the underside of his hair, twisting the strands into small braids and placing flowers to hold them in. Nepeta’s idea, go figure.</p><p>Dave nose wrinkles as he thinks. “Nah,” he says, crossing his arms to hide the scratched disc painted on it. “I don’t think we’re red, either.”</p><p>“And you’re not pale?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t cheat on a fellow pale bro, Eridan.”</p><p>“I’m saying I don’t mind, Dave,” you say, smiling. </p><p>He considers it for a moment, brows furrowing as he takes it in before shaking his head slightly. “No.. it’s, like, sometimes I think we’re <em> red </em> but then we’re sort of pitch? Maybe a bit pale here and there — I don’t know.”</p><p>“Pale would be nice. For the both of you.”</p><p>“You think so?”</p><p>You consider it for a moment. You think of genuine laughs, ashen banter and then falling asleep feeling warm and embraced. You didn’t realize you’re smiling until Kanaya clears her throat and you look up at her.</p><p>She gives you a knowing smile before going back to work on taking Dave’s hair.</p><p>You lick your lips and look back at your moirail. “Vacillating quadrants are good. And considering it’s you and Kar then there should be nothing to worry about. You can figure out where you stand together.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“You’ll have your fights here and there but isn’t that how your human romances work? You trust each other and you know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you and neither would you.” You quickly add, “I’m happy for you.”</p><p>Dave is silent. You can see his eyes closing and opening in slow blinks, already hearing the clocks turning as he thinks…</p><p>He grins. “Sollux really fucking got to you, huh?”</p><p>Dirk lets out an amused laugh when you kick Dave’s leg, making him yelp and tumble back against Kanaya who lets out a laugh herself.</p><p>You smile in silent agreement.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>A few more weeks go by. Some more dream bubbles pass through the meteors and you’ve poked your head in and out of a few. Sometimes you’ll see yourself with an eyepatch (or two) other times you’d see another Vriska or Equius instead. Either way, you’re pretty fucking sure you’re the happiest here.</p><p>You’ve grown fond of the way it’s become a habit  to see everyone in the same room for movie night and, much to your delight, Eridan always saves you a spot right next to some while Gamzee or Karkat sit on the other side when not with their boyfriends. Sometimes it’d just be the two of you but he never moves away so you assume it’s fine.</p><p>At some point you wrapped your arm around him once to provide the extra warmth and he leaned further against you.</p><p>You pointedly avoided eye contact with Aradia or Dirk after the marathon finished.</p><p>Other times you’ll be sitting at the breakfast table, catching up with June or Jade about the course of things, when Eridan sneaks up behind you to hit you (softly) with one of his (your) pillows. You  always attack back, throwing the pillow as hard as you could with your psionics, laughing as he yelps and trips over himself. A short laugh would always follow and you’d feel light hearted when going back to your conversation.</p><p>(You once caught Jade  smirking at you. You don’t know why but you suddenly felt very exposed right there and then.)</p><p>You like to think your favorite moments are when Eridan hugs you. They’re usually short-lived, a quick goodbye or hello when he passes by you. You tell yourself it’s not as comforting as Karkat makes it out to be but you stop fighting it when you start returning them.</p><p>He used to be small against you, now he’s almost as tall as you, and you’ve gotten used to the honeysuckle smell his hair gave off after a fresh shower. </p><p>“You’re unbelievable,” Karkat tells you once Eridan leaves with Nepeta, both of them exchanging jokes gleefully.</p><p>You don’t say anything, keeping your eyes on the seadweller as he walks away.</p><p>“So when are you gonna tell him?” The Knight continues.</p><p>You don’t miss the shocked expression on his face when you say, “Soon.” </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
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</p><p>You don’t know who said it first but you don’t care.</p><p>You had been huddled up in your room for the past few days, feeling tired but restless all the same. You’ve paced around your room long enough for the balls of your feet to ache and you definitely were gonna get blisters for not wearing socks or shoes.</p><p>Gamzee came over a few times to lay with you. Then Dave joined and later Karkat, but they all left once you told them you wanted to be alone for a bit longer. Dave ruffled up your hair on the way out and Karkat told you to holler if you needed anything. Gamzee left you some pie to nibble on, just in case. </p><p>That was over two hours ago. Everyone was probably asleep — although the passage of time was useless in the meteor, Dave and Aradia helped everyone know when it was too late or too early for random bullshit to occur — and you’re not expecting anyone to come in and visit you anymore.</p><p>Still there’s a knock.</p><p>You begrudgingly slide out of your blanket nest and make your way to the door, a half-heartedly apology at the tip of your tongue when—</p><p>“You ok princess?”</p><p>You let Sollux inside your room when he asks to come in. You sit back down on your bed and let him sit next to you.</p><p>The two of you talk.</p><p>You talk for an hour or so — you don’t really know. You don’t really <em> care </em>. He ends up under the covers with you, your head rested against your chest as he tells you of all the stupid shit he’s done with Aradia and Dirk for the past few days in your absence. You let out small puffs of laughter when he brings up the Dave-Karkat situation, saying he caught them asleep on his way here inside Dave’s room. </p><p>You say, “I wish that were me.”</p><p>Sollux stops running his hand through your hair. “Dave or Karkat?” he asks.</p><p>“I wish I was loved like that, Sol.”</p><p>You don’t know how but his lips end up on yours. It’s small and a bit hesitant — the words “Can I kiss you?” still echoing in your head as you pull him back in, tasting honey on your tongue.</p><p>When you part you press your foreheads together. You play with his hand, intertwining your fingers together then bringing them up to your lips to plant a chaste kiss.</p><p>
  <em> I love you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I love you, too. </em>
</p><p>Then Sollux groans. You raise a brow at him and he says, “I can’t fucking believe Dirk was right.”</p><p>You can’t fight back the laugh that escapes you. You shake your head then pull him back in for another kiss.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Me posting this at 10pm the very same day i posted the fjrst chapter: haha nice</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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